Ditto for the Cowboy Charcoal. I have been using it for a few years now. I have one of those charcoal starters for the grill. Couple of sheets of newspaper underneath and about a half of the container of charcoal. I light it outside and when it gets going good, dump in on the grate with coal around it, turn on the blower and it is good to go.

coalkirk wrote:Make a starter out of an old can. Here's a picture. It's the same idea as the charcoal starters for grills. Newspaper in the bottom, small pieces of dry wood (or cowboy charcoal) in the top. Set it on the grate and light it with the combustion fan on. Within a minute, add some coal on top and it will take right off.

can starter.jpg

coalkirk wins my vote... this is an idea born from some of the greatest coal burners in history using an old flue pipe or coffee can or whatever. Its a concept that works so well its been written into many books and many user manuals of coal stoves over the years and the best part is that its "Free" (Free is a good price! and is in keeping with our whole purpose of using coal stoves).

Thanks for the vote. This was something that some else on the forum suggested a year or so ago. I'm not very creative with new ideas and methods. But when I see one that's a winner, I don't forget it. This creates such an intense fire it looks like a rocket engine. Lights the coal in a jiffy.

It depends on the size of the coal you are trying to ignite.My DVC-500 uses Rice, and that gets going with a small pile of wood pellets on the grates, with a little gel-starter or diesel thrown on top. It starts every time.